The Fall of Mana
by Kuzoa
Summary: I don't want to spoil anything, so just click the link!
1. Eclipse

**Chapter 1-Eclipse**

Geffen, a city noted for its advanced magic and technology, lies in the middle of a lake by the base of Mt. Mjolnir. The crux of the city, the Arcane tower, can be seen even from Prontera, capital city of Rune-Midgard. Its streets are lined with various light posts, powered by magic, and people going about their daily lives.

At the far-eastern corner of the city lie one Arukatael la Croix, and his brother, Phoenix. Sent by their parents, they left their hometown, Al de Baran, to study at Geffen's Arcane tower.

"Ugh….."Arukatael or Aru, as his friends called him, had just woken up.

This young druid with the age of 18 always woke up late, and his professor would always shout so loud, the whole tower could hear her screams.

He looked around. Phoenix was already up and drinking coffee while reading a newspaper.

"Get up! You lazy bum!" Phoenix bellowed.

Aru got out of bed and fixed the sheets. He went over to his wardrobe, selected his clothes and went to the bathroom.

"Hurry up! Your professor's gonna be shouting the life outta you again!" Phoenix said as he took a sip of his hot coffee.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was a necromancer with the age of 24. His black hair and red eyes would strike fear into anyone that crosses his path. Although he sometimes bullies Aru, he really cares a lot about him.

Aru opened the bathroom doors, undressed himself and went in. He turned on the shower and was greeted by very, very hot water.

"AAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" He yelled as the water touched his skin. Practically the whole town heard his cry.

After a few minutes in the shower with the hot water, Aru had gotten used to the hot water, and somewhat…felt……..soothed. Outside, he could hear voices shouting through the small window they had in the bathroom.

"What happened?"

"That stupid mage did it!"

"Who did what?" Aru though to himself. "Must be those Fentons shouting again. Sigh…."

"Look what you've done!"

"I-I'm really sorry!"

"Hmm…that sounds like someone I know…." Aru said to himself again, not knowing he was saying it out loud.

"Are you talking to yourself again?" Phoenix shouted as he turned the pages of his newspaper and crossed his legs.

Aru opened the bathroom doors and the steam from the hot water filled the entire house.

He took his clothes and put them on. Today, he wore black, denim pants with little furry stuff by the ankles, his favorite bracelet; a black bracelet with bolts that looked like skulls, and a bloody red shirt that said "Don't dare defy me!" with a poring design on it.

He went to his wardrobe once more and drew out the standard druid uniform: a black cloak with some markings on it. He WAS a druid, after all!

He went over to the table, where Phoenix had prepared the classic breakfast: bacon and eggs. Outside the windows, he saw that the sky was turning to a dark brown color.

He checked his bracelet, which also told time. "It's only 9:00 am! Why is it so dark?"

"There was an eclipse." Phoenix had answered his question for him. "Looks like this mage caused it."

Aru took one bite of his bacon then went to the window to see what was going on.

"Where's the mage?" Aru asked.

"Down there."

"THAT'S JULIA!" Aru ran outside the house, his cloak trailing behind him. "JULIA!"

"Julia…..le Rouge?" Phoenix let out a sigh. "He didn't even finish his breakfast! DAMN! Why am I treating him like my own child? I don't care if he starves, he's 18, for God's sake!"

"Julia!" Aru said as he ran towards Julia. "JULIA!"

"Aru!"

"And exactly WHO are you?" One of the men said.

"Arukatael la Croix. Member of the high council of the Aduro Phasmatis, and student at the Arcane Tower." He said as he pointed at the Arcane tower to his right.

"Profession?"

"Druid."

"Fine! Take your little girlfriend there and make sure it doesn't happen again! What a waste of sunlight!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"What-ever!" The man said, imitating a teenage girl's accent.

"A-Aru……I'm sorry." Julia said once the men were gone.

"What happened anyway?"

"I felt a presence near me, I thought someone was stalking me, so I wanted to reveal him, but ended up causing this eclipse."

"Hmm…you're supposed to be one of the top-ranking mages of our batch, why'd this happen?"

Julia blushed at his statement. There was just something about Aru she just couldn't help but look at. His azure, shoulder-length hair accompanied by his deep blue eyes she always found herself drowning in.

"Julia." She didn't respond, but rather, she just kept looking at him.

"Erm….Julia, where gonna be late for class!"

"Oh! Yes! That's right!" She said as she ran towards the tower. "Catch you later!"

Aru just stood there as Phoenix approached him from behind and pushed him lightly on the back.

"Don't you know yet? Isn't it obvious?" He was chuckling as he too, walked towards the tower.

"Know what?"

* * *

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Reisha."

The professor just banged her stick towards the blackboard.

"I have no time to shout right now. Just GO TO YOUR SEAT!" Obviously, she was controlling her anger.

Aru did as he was told. The only vacant seat he saw was at the far left corner of the room, by the window. He sat down and stared at the view outside, and began to daydream as the professor began writing words on the blackboard.

"Hmm…what did Phoenix mean? And why would Julia cause this eclipse? She always liked to look at the deep, blue skies Geffen was famous for. You couldn't see that in Prontera, it was too cloudy there.

He twirled his hair out of boredom. He could hear the professor's words but they all made no sense to him. They went in one ear and out the other.

"Mr. Arukatael!" The professor said as she banged her stick onto Aru's desk.

"….la Croix!" Aru didn't even hear her.

The professor just toppled over his desk, and Aru fell down to the floor. She was right. She had his attention now.

"P-Professor Reisha!" Aru could now see the slight vein bulging out of his professor's forehead.

"Mr. Arukatael, please read page seven-hundred eighty four."

"O-of what?"

At this statement, the professor lost it. She poured out all her anger at him. Her screams, once again, woke up the town of Geffen.

"PRINCIPAL!" Reisha said as she banged the principal's door open.

"Yes, what can I do for you, Professor Reisha?" The principal said with a smile glued to his face.

"This………PERSON was daydreaming in my class, for the 945th time!"

"Calm down, professor. Calm down." She did. And that made her loosen her grip on Aru.

"Now. What exactly would you like me to do with him?"

"Make him…….make him cast a thousand spells!" She said. Pausing in between to catch her breath.

"I can't."

"WHY NOT?" Reisha went furious once more at this statement.

"Something is wrong with Midgard's magic. The archmagi of Geffen just informed me a while ago."

"SO? IS THAT SUPPOSE TO BE A BAD THING?"

"Calm down. Even my magic doesn't work." He pointed his finger at a vase, attempting to lift it, but instead, broke it. "See?"

"Fine."

"Oh, by the way…." The principal grabbed a mike from beneath his desk. "Announcement: There shall be no hands-on magical-related activities until the department of Magic says it's okay to cast once again. Thank you."

"Just…..lecture. Please."

Reisha and Aru strode off into the halls and back into their classroom, where Reisha banged the blackboard once more.

"SILENCE!"

* * *

"How is it going?"

"Excellent! A mage just created this eclipse a while ago."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." The woman chuckled. "Only those that have perfected their skills may have the right to cast!"

"We do have one problem."

"And what is that?"

"Alchemy. The Sephiroth Network is still active and the various channels it has."

"Pathetic alchemists!"


	2. Enchantment Cascade

Author's Note: Hey, I know. These few parts have been romance. I'm just building up their relation to splice things up later on.

Chapter 2-Enchantment Cascade

Aru was sitting by the dinner table, playing with his spaghetti. The doorbell rang. Aru went over to open it. It was phoenix. They both sat down at the table, Aru continued to play with his spaghetti.

"So…….what's your punishment this time?" Phoenix really meant to say "Why the long face?" but he decided it was too motherly.

"Ugh…..I have to go to Payon and make a 46, 000-word essay about those little blue guys in the cave."

"Bonguns?"

"Whatever."

"Hey, I—"

The doorbell rang again. Aru went over to the door and opened it once more.

"J-Julia!"

"Hi. I just wanted to stop by. Is it okay if I come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

Aru opened the door wider so that Julia could pass.

"Oh, Phoenix is here."

"Hi." Phoenix uttered as he waved his hands.

Julia went over to the table. Aru moved the chair so that she could sit, then sat down himself.

"So…..what did Prof Reisha condemn you to this time?" Julia asked. Phoenix glared at him in a comical way, staring at his now crimson red cheeks.

"I have to do a 46, 000-word essay on those—"

"—Bonguns." Phoenix continued his statement. "They're called Bonguns, got that?"

"Y-Yeah, whatever."

They now had deep red faces, Phoenix found it almost impossible to contain his laughter, so he went up stairs as he said, "I….I'm going up…" He paused as he found it hard to speak and contain his laughter at the same time. "I'm going upstairs."

Phoenix rushed up the stairs, into his room and slammed the door. Moments later, his laughter could be heard throughout the whole house.

"Umm…..Aru?"

"Yes?"

"You sleep down here right? While your brother stays upstairs?"

"Yes. That's right."

"I just love the location of your house, it's so…..peaceful. Um…..would you wanna come with me outside, for a walk?"

"Okay, Lemme just inform that Phoenix." He drew out a clean pad of paper and began scribbling the words, "Went out for a stroll –Aru"

Aru opened the door, letting Julia pass through, then went out himself and closed the door. The cool breeze of the night blowing their hair. Aru couldn't help but stare at Julia's pure blue hair as it swayed in the wind. It reminded him of…..the sea.

"You coming?" Julia asked.

"Oh, right! Yes, of course!"

As they walked, they saw that Geffen's beauty was shown not by the sun, but by the moon. The Arcane tower in the middle was hit by the moonlight. The lights in the turrets opened, giving it an even more mystical feeling.

"I just love Geffen. Ever since I entered this world, I've seen Geffen's beauty. Funny though, I've never once seen it at night like this."

"Al de Baran was nice, but I think Geffen is magnificent. I remember when I first went to Geffen, the first person who welcomed me was you. That was nine years ago."

"Remember when I kept ringing the doorbell, but didn't know what to say so I always ran away and when you opened the door, there was no one there!"

"That was hilarious!"

They both laughed at their childhood memories as they sat down the banks of the river surrounding Geffen. Aru dipped his finger into the cold water.

"It's cold…"

* * *

"Hey! Is Julia gone?" Phoenix thought this a stupid question, mainly because if Julia WAS still there, she would've got the impression she was unwanted, but he went through with the question anyway. "Julia? Aru?"

Phoenix's feet landed on the ground and saw a note at the table, reading "Went out for a stroll –Aru"

"Oh he's gonna get it? Doesn't he know there's a bane chick out there somewhere?"

* * *

"Hey, umm…I had fun today, but I guess my mom's worried sick."

"Yeah….Phoenix would be too."

As they walked towards Julia's home, Aru never expected his life would change this way.

"Umm…Aru?"

"Yes?"

Julia went closer and closer to him, then passionately kissed him on the lips. Aru never expected this, but just went with the flow, and closed his eyes. The two shared their first kiss on a beautiful night in Geffen.

Aru opened his eyes and looked to his right. Phoenix was just standing there. They were forced to stop the kiss.

"Ph-Phoenix! W-What are you doing here? We didn't do nothing!" Aru said as he scratched the back of his hair, and a large sweat drop trickled down his forehead.

Phoenix was now sprinting towards them.

"Really! We weren't doing anything! We were just—" He was cut. Phoenix just ran past them.

Out of surprise, the two looked at Phoenix. He was now blocking a weird talisman, and behind the talisman, they could see a woman.

"Necromancer." Phoenix uttered under his breath.

The mysterious woman crept closer and closer. Phoenix ripped the talisman to shreds. As the woman came into the light of the light post, Aru saw that she was very elegant indeed. The woman let out a chuckle. Not forced, but not out of humor either.

"You really think you can do anything to me?" She went over to Phoenix and caressed his face gently. "You're a necromancer aren't you?"

Phoenix grabbed the woman's hand and pushed it away from his face. "You're just a bitch!"

At this remark, the woman chuckled again.

"I might actually have some use for you." She said as she threw a talisman at him. Phoenix just grabbed it and tore it to shreds. "You're actually getting better! Keep it up!"

She walked past Phoenix and eyed Aru devilishly.

"And what about these two love birds?" She glared once more at Aru. "Afraid your little girlfriend might get hurt?"

Julia blushed, Aru did what his brother did, but this time, he was attempting to make it rain fire on you?

With one snap of her fingers, the magic Aru felt disappeared, each and every sliver of magic that you feel when casting disappeared from his body.

"Don't you know Midgard's magic isn't working properly?" She chuckled once more.

"Ugh, you bitch, Black Mamba was it?"

"That's only my Alias but you could call me that.

From behind, Aru saw Phoenix was casting a spell at her. He was successful. Demons surrounded Mamba, but as they were about to hit her, she dissolved into a black mist.

"Catch you later!" her fading voice uttered.

Phoenix, as Aru could see, was now full of rage. He walked over to the two and looked at Julia.

"Julia…..y-you have to go home. We need to talk in private."

Julia just bowed and walked over to her home.

"Aren't we going to escort her?" Aru asked. Phoenix didn't reply.

* * *

"Going out at night? Didn't you know that bane chick—"

"—chick?" Aru interrupted, which, obviously, irritated Phoenix even more.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT MOM WOULD SAY IF YOU DIED ON MY WATCH?"

"Is that what mom would think or you?"

"I am a highly skilled necromancer. A DRUID PUNK LIKE YOU AND YOUR LITTLE MAGE-GIRLFRIEND WON'T STAND A CHANCE EVEN IF YOU COMBINED YOUR MAGIC!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Whatever! I'm not looking after you anymore!"

"That's just what you think!"

Phoenix stormed up the stairs. If he exerted a little more effort in stomping, he could've destroyed the whole staircase. Aru went over to the bathroom and took a bath.

* * *

"The magic can't be controlled anymore. Earlier, a necromancer summoned demons. He didn't notice the side-effects of this: Payon's monsters have started rampaging across town!"

"And who is this necromancer?"

"Phoenix. Phoenix la Croix."

"From what I heard, he, his brother and his friend was attacked by Black Ma—"

"Black Mamba……..We will have to cast an enchantment cascade around Midgard. Gather all the archmagi!"

"Yessir."


	3. The Archmagi's Failure

**Chapter 3-The Archmagi's Failure**

Morning had come. Aru was at Julia's front door, about to knock….if only he knew what to say.

"Oh, what about: Hey, sorry for yesterday. That Black Mamba person was really crazy, wasn't she? No, that won't do." He paused for a while thinking of what to say to her, it had to be meaningful. After all, they had their first kiss last night.

"What if I said—" The door swung open. Inside was a confused Julia, who probably thought to herself, "Who is Aru talking to?"

"Aru?"

Aru stopped talking to himself.

"Oh…hi! Julia!"

"Listen, I'm sorry—" They both uttered in unison.

"You go first." Julia suggested.

"No. You." Aru, in turn, replied.

"—about yesterday—" They once again said in unison.

"—Look, I'm really sorry." Aru said, feeling very solemn inside.

"I am too." Julia said as she went over to Aru and gave him a warm hug. Aru couldn't support her weight and they tumbled on the floor. Their position was rather erotic: Julia on top of Aru, whose legs were between Julia's.

Behind, Aru could see what was inside Julia's house. Usually, whenever he came, his brothers would be taunting him. There was no sign of life inside. It was all quiet.

"Say, where are your brothers and parents?"

"Oh….they went on a holiday to Glast Heim." A sweat drop trickled down her face as she stood up and helped Aru get up.

"I know….of all places, why Glast Heim? I knew it was dangerous, so I stayed here."

"Then you're all alone here?"

"Not exactly. I'm leaving the house too. Mom sa—"

"Then where are you going?"

"…"

"Okay, okay, finish your sentence."

"Mom said I should stay with you since she found out Phoenix went to Payon to do something."

"S-Stay at m-my house?" Aru said, his cheeks burning at the moment. He imagined the possibilities if Julia were to stay there even one night.

"(No. Get those thoughts out of my mind!)" Aru thought to himself.

"Aru? Are…you okay with that?" Julia asked.

"Oh, I'm kinda going to Payon. I have to do the 46, 000-word essay, remember?"

"Oh. Good. That beats Glast heim anytime!"

"Y-You're coming?"

"Yes! Already have my stuff packed!"

* * *

"This Sephiroth network thing is more complex than it looks! I'm impressed!" Black Mamba chuckled. "Let's see…what if I—" 

She stopped. A flora had just emerged from her back, and was about to eat her cloak when she summoned a demon, and the monsters engaged in a battle.

"Well….you're one pretty skilled Alchemist!"

"Pfh! Whatever!" The mysterious alchemist said as he extinguished the flames of his cigarette.

"It's gonna be fun taking you out."

* * *

"Well? Shall we go?" Julia asked as Aru closed the small bag he had, which contained his clothes and other essentials. 

"Yeah. Sure."

They both went out the door while Aru locked the door. Julia saw a Kafra stand nearby. She signaled Aru and got two tickets to Payon. She went over to the Geffen network, where the different channels stand, leading to different networks.

Aru saw the words, "Exodus Network" above one of the platforms so he grabbed Julia's hand and pulled her to the platform. The Channel's doors opened and they stepped in.

"The Exodus Channel will depart soon. Please board the channel." The Kafra announced.

Channels are vehicles that let you travel through Alchemy's different networks and bring you to the different databases of Alchemy, but in the Exodus Network's case, brings you to different parts of Midgard.

"Have a safe trip!"

* * *

"M'lord Zane. Why have you summoned us?" 

"Yes. You are the finest magus in Geffen, hence the term, Archmagus. We need all of your magic to cast an enchantment cascade around Midgard, as the Queen has ordered."

The archmagi all gathered around in a circle, knowing exactly what to do. The highest ranking mage of the Aduro Phasmatis, Zane Valentine, drew Geffen's symbol on the floor: a circle with a spider's web and a triangle: symbolizing the Arcane Tower.

"Here we go."

* * *

"Hey, have you ever been on a channel before?" 

"No. Like I said last night: All I've seen is Geffen and it's surroundings."

Outside the window, they could see they were in the only database the Exodus network had. From the perception of the human eyes, it looked oddly like a trench underwater.

"ARU! I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!" Julia said. She was now crying and lying down on Aru's chest.

Aru comforted her by just letting her lie down on her chest.

"It's alright. I'm here."

* * *

"Era-sum E-rasum Erasum Erasum Er-asum" The archmagi chanted. The symbol started to glow a fluorescent green. It was working. 

The chanting stopped. The glowing faded. They would now know if their spell was successful. A strong gust of wind blew inside the sealed room.

"Who cast that spell?"

No one replied.

"Who cast the wind spell?"

"M'lord. No one cast it." One of the members said.

"Then I am afraid we have failed, although the side-effects of our action, even I do not know."

* * *

The channel stopped in the middle of the trench. 

"W-What happened?" Julia asked as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"The channel just stopped. No big deal." Aru said. This made Julia feel even worse.

Aru could now see the fear Julia had inside. She really was scared of heights.

Aru just hugged her very hard, as she did for him. He then kissed her lightly on the cheek and said, "It's alright. Your boyfriend is here."

Aru could sense that that made Julia's fear lighter. The P.A. system rang and the same Kafra's voice went through.

"Announcement—"

The whole channel stopped talking.

"The archmagi were able to cast an enchantment cascade around Midgard, but the side-effect of this is that demons now roam the land. As you may know, Midgard's magic is going haywire, so the Aduro Phasmatis had to step in."

"Hey, aren't you a part of that?" Julia asked.

"Yes."

"Their solution was an enchantment cascade to prevent anyone from casting, but they failed miserably. Although the cascade was formed, demons roam the land, as I have said earlier, and messed with the Exodus Network. Other Networks have not been discovered by the demons. It will only be a matter of time before we can get out. Please stay calm. Thank you."

Panic ensued in the channel.

"We're going to die? I cannot die at the hands of a demon!" One of the men said.

"Listen, Julia. I know a way out."

"You want us to jump down, don't you?"

"Y-Yes."

Julia was very, VERY hesitant. As if being on a channel in the middle of a trench with demons all over wasn't enough!

"It's the only way. Unless you wanna be devoured by—"

"D-DEVOURED? Heck, I'd rather jump down."

"(That's a lot better now)" Aru thought to himself. "Let's go!"

Aru and Julia went over to one of the doors and opened it. They both jumped down.

"Those two are crazy!" One of the women bellowed.

Julia felt very uneasy. She never really liked the feeling one gets when one is falling, not that she ever did from that height. Aru's expression showed a scared look.

"That was just a theory, wasn't it?" Julia said, now clinging even harder to Aru.

"Yes. Hopefully, my instincts were right."

"Umm……Aru? If we die, I just wanted to say I love you." Julia said as she quickly kissed him on the lips. The second kiss.

"We'll get through this…..we will."

* * *

"You're a pretty good fighter yourself! What's your name?" Black Mamba said as she wiped off the dust from her clothes. 

"The most basic rule in fighting: never let your guard down!" The alchemist said. His skin peeled and revealed a snake.

"Black Mamba, the snake." The alchemist, who was now behind her, whispered to her ear.

"Hmph!" She said as she dodged the snake with ease. She then conjured negative energy, and summoned a gravitational distort in the snake, leaving only the bones and eyes. With a snap of her finger, the snake's eyes glowed red.

"Yes. Black Mamba the snake." She chuckled a while, then pointed at the alchemist. "…….and the bane chick!"

The skeletal snake bit the alchemist. He drew out a bottle, possibly anti-venom, but as he did, Black Mamba turned into black mist.

"Awww……wittle alchemist gawt poisoned?" She said as the mist turned into her form again and touched his cheeks.

He tried to slap her, but she turned into mist once more, only this time, the mist disappeared for good.

"I'll leave you and snake-y here to bond! Catch you later, sugar!"

"Damn that bitch!"


	4. Demons Raid Prontera

**Author's Note: I didn't go through with the lemon……I didn't want to make that out of my characters…..sorry to those who were looking forward to it! **

**Chapter 4-Demons raid Prontera **

"Where am I?" A confused Aru said as he looked around the strange place.

To his left, he could see the walls were made with a medieval theme. Lanterns and candles were used as their source of light. Aru looked to his right this time.

"Aaahhh! Julia!" To his left was one sleeping Julia le Rouge, whose lips so close he could almost kiss them. But no, he wasn't that type of guy, was he?

Julia opened her eyes and rubbed them, but was shocked to see Aru just staring at him. She quickly got out of bed, blushing so hard she could've sworn her skin was burning. Suddenly the door opened. Aru got out of bed too. He sensed a feeling of……..danger approaching. The door slowly crept open.

"Black Mamba?" Julia asked herself.

The door was now fully opened and a man stepped in.

"Good Morning! I am the owner of this Inn. Is this your first time in Prontera?" The man said.

"Erm…technically yes, because we passed here on our way to Geffen from Al de Baran 9 years ago." Aru replied, scratching his head, feeling so stupid.

"I don't think so." Julia said.

"Then let me be the first to welcome you!"

The man smiled as did the two.

"…….so how did we end up here again?" Julia asked while pasting a confused look on her face.

"You fell from the exodus network as some alchemists claimed, although how, I will never know. So anyways, I heard the crash you two make, and when I when over, I saw you two hugging each other, Julia there was crying on your shoulder, so my conscience told me to take the young couple in."

Julia and Aru blushed very, very hard. They looked at each other, trying to see the other's reaction on their predicament, but when they saw they were looking at each other, they quickly turned away.

"You ARE paying, right?" The man asked.

Large sweat drops trickled down their faces.

"I'm gonna go look around town first……" Aru said as he briskly walked out of the inn.

"….I'll go with him." Julia said as she followed Aru.

* * *

"This insanity cannot go anymore! Demons have been raiding various cities of Midgard!" One of the council members shouted.

"Yes. Yes. I know. But there is nothing we can do." The archmagus said.

The large doors of the room swung open. Outside was Black Mamba, who seemed to be enjoying their helplessness.

"Magi! Get her!"

Thousands of people wearing a purple cape and a hawk-like helmet charged at her at top speed.

"Now we're starting to have a little fun, aren't we?" Black Mamba said arrogantly.

Her mere laugh killed them all. Their skeletal frames emerged from their body as they were charging at her.

"Seems as though they've had a change of heart!" She said, once again, putting on a devilish smile.

"Jupitel Thunder!" One of the council members yelled. It backfired, and a large bolt descended from the roof and destroyed the whole tower.

A black mist engulfed the ruined tower as reporters and people crowded at the foot.

* * *

"Aru!"

"Hm?"

Aru and Julia were by now in the center of Prontera where all the people were. Julia had seen a humungous bolt rain down on Geffen.

"Something happened to the Arcane tower! We have to go!" Julia said as she pulled Aru's hand. Aru let go of her grip.

"We can't. I just know something's going to happen to Phoenix."

"So this wasn't about your essay, wasn't it?"

The people of Prontera suddenly screamed a deafening scream. They all fled in fear. Aru and Julia turned around to see several spider-like demons.

"J-Julia, did that bolt bring this to town?"

"I don't think so…."

The demons started charging at them. Aru pulled Julia and himself out of harm's way. He then started casting.

"Your magic might backfire!"

"Do we have a choice?"

The casting went through to Aru's surprise. He didn't expect him to be able to cast such a complex spell especially now that the magic is going haywire.

Vines sprouted from the ground entangling one of the demons. It then burnt up, including the demon and went back into the ground with the demon's burnt skin.

"Don't worry. Just a hundred more to go." A mysterious alchemist said.

"And who are you?" Julia said as she tried casting too. A large wall of fire blocked the demons from passing through.

"Lucas. Valentine."

Aru didn't really care who was there, as long as he was help. He cast another spell. Fog started to fill Prontera, the demon's skin was now corroding, although the humans were fine.

Lucas drew out a bottle containing a black-like substance. He threw it at the horde of demons, and upon contact, exploded, killing a large percentage of the demons.

Julia kept blasting them with summoned souls. It seemed to be working perfectly.

Aru cast once more, this time attempting to summon a fire spirit to pass through Prontera and burn their souls. It failed miserably, and a tsunami formed at Izlude's bay just south of Prontera.

"I'm sorry….."

"There's no time for apologies! Come on!" Julia pulled his hand, Lucas stopped them.

"Hold your ground. Trust me. Please."

"If you break our trust, you'll suffer in the underworld!" Julia menacingly said.

"That will never happen." He threw a bottle into the air, forming a protective barrier around them. The tsunami passed them and drowned the demons.

"They're getting quite good." Black Mamba said as she threw out her last cigarette.

She was on one of the roofs of Prontera, watching them fight.

"Of course….the people are going to be in a fit once they find out they did the tsunami!" She giggled. "This should be worth watching!"


	5. Black Mamba was bored

**Chapter 5-Mamba was bored**

"Ugh……." Black Mamba said as she lay down one of the roofs of Al de Baran, as the sun dove into the horizon. "There's nothing to do in this god-forsaken planet!"

Two novices passed by who seemed to be very good friends, although their outfit seemed different from a normal novice. Their pants were blue, they wore sandals….their bag had some sort of symbol.

"Pathetic." With the mere wave of her hands, one of them fell to the ground, his spirit ascended to the rooftops where Mamba was. "Go on, entertain me."

"Please, mistress. I beg you."

"Pfffshhh…whatever." She snapped her fingers. The poor soul rocketed down deeper than the ground, his soul burning.

"Ugh….this world is full of useless mortals! Even when I entered the clocktower this morning, gosh…..these humans are imbeciles, aren't they?"

_I entered the clocktower, and started playing with those witches….what are they called? Oh yeah, bathories……anyhow, this…guy just cast a spell and snow appeared and killed it. I mean, the nerve! So I went up to him and said "Like, what the heck IS your problem?"_

"_My problem?"_

"_Yes!"_

"_You! You're so beautiful, it'd be impossible to own you!"_

_So I was, like, agitated. So I hit him in the cheek, and burnt his soul. Serves him right. Rot in hell you bastard!_

_So anyway, I started climbing again, and I was now in the 2nd floor. I saw this……sage, so I started talking to him. I was bored! What do you expect?_

"_Ohhh….a necromancer. Interesting!"_

"_Pfffshhh…..you're the first decent mortal…erm….I mean guy I've met today." I said as I caressed his…smooth face. Oh-my-gosh! What am I talking about?I didn't caress it! I slapped him!"_

"_You really think so?"_

"_NOT!" ….then I slapped him. That felt good. Beating up mortals is good, who would wanna be them anyway?_

_So the guy fainted then this deformed floating little thingermajiger floated up to me and was about to blow poison, so I was, like, eww! Stay away! So I drew out my Rante, enchanted it with my black magic, I hit it and it died. Hey, it was actually more of a challenge than those bafoonish magi, they actually have the nerve to call themselves ARCHmagi! Pathetic._

_As I walked towards the center of the floor, I saw a group of assassins killing some machine they called the clocktower manager, and they were…calling me._

"_Miss Necromancer-lady-like-thing! Please aid us in our endeavor!"_

_Ugh..this guy talks worse than my Cerberus…what's with the high vocabulary!_

"_We're dying out here!"_

_When they said that, I was overjoyed….I thought of just watching them die, but I think it'll be quicker if I did it._

"_You are?"_

"_Yes! Now go help me!"_

"_You're….dying. Hmm…let me think…….SO WHAT? WHO THE FUCKING HELL CARES?"_

_They died. Ahh…the smell of death relaxes me….of course the rotting bodies stink and all….anyways, the machine had killed its prey (or at least it thought so), so it went after me. It opened it's mouth, I was curious as to what it would do, so I just stood there, then it spoke! Wow! It spoke! That really shocked me, Midgard monsters are fascinating me……I mean…whatever, so what if it talked?_

"_I am the clocktower manager. What brings you here? Death?"_

"_Yes. Exactly." So I pointed at the dead bodies, stole their skeletons with my magic and hurled it at the talking thingamajig. Not yet dead eh? I put back the skeletons into their respectful bodies, and although it wasn't neat…who cares anyway? They're just mortals….dead mortals. So then I raised their bodies, and they were like at my command and went over to the talking thingamajig and started fighting. _

_This was going nowhere. Why hadn't I just thought of it before?_

"_I know!"_

"_What is your perfect plan, mistress necromancer?"_

_I blew up their corpses. Yes. Fascinating things necromancers can do, no? They all went kaboom, even the thingamajig….and off I go…into the abyss._

_The third floor was swarming with these clocks that had arms and faces….weird….alchemist created, possibly._

"_It's time to have some fun!" I said to myself…….then Mephisto came….fun over._

"Yes, that's right….exactly how it happened." Mephisto said as he lay down beside Mamba, his long white hair swaying in the wind. "You really WERE bored, weren't you?"

"Whatever."

"Talking to yourself eh? Boredom does things to you."

"Me? Pffshhh…." Mamba said as she jumped off and wiped the dust off her clothes. She then drew out her whip.

"If you weren't all that, I'd let you feel the end of my whip!"

* * *

A vase broke.

"I-It's happening again." A cloaked figure said as he held his head with his hands. "This….cannot go on anymore…..why am I cursed by this blade? Why? Why? WHY?"

**Author's Note: Yeah, I know….short chapter.**


	6. Archaeon part I

**Chapter 6-Archaeon part I**

"Ummm….Aru?" Julia asked as the three of them walked around the busy streets of Prontera.

"Yes?"

"Err….I think I'm ready."

Aru blushed, thinking it was something else. Lucas couldn't help but listen in. "F-For what?"

"I wanna become a sage now."

"Oh…is that all? I was thinking you were ready to—" Aru covered Lucas's mouth, stopping him from saying anything.

"Ok, well, anyway we're going to Juno I guess. So we'd better head over to one of those Kafra ladies and—"

"The Exodus Network is down right?" Lucas said as he hit Aru hard on the back of his neck. "What the hell were you thinking? Riding on the kafras piggy-back all the way to Juno?"

Aru couldn't help but imagine.

"Oh, umm…wait here. I should get some supplies for our little trip."

"I'll come with you." Aru said as he ran towards Julia. Lucas stayed behind, walking and walking without any objective.

A cloaked figure passed by him. His face and everything was covered, and as he passed by, Lucas could've sworn he muttered "Sage…"

"Suspicious……"

* * *

"That'll be 1, 000z please." The merchant said as he took out their order of potions.

Julia gave the man the money. Aru rushed her so that they could get back to Lucas.

"Quickly, he must be worried sick!" Aru said as he walked briskly. "We need an alchemist with us…we can't afford to lose him."

Aru bumped some stranger with dark cloaks.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said as he bowed down to apologize. Julia went over to him and said, "We better get going now."

They went around the man, but the man still whisked in front of them.

"Hey! What's the big idea?"

He didn't reply. Instead, the man put his hands inside his cloak.

"(What the hell does this guy want?)" Julia thought to herself.

The man's arms emerged from the cloak, carrying a large sword along with it. This sword was unlike anything the two had ever seen. It was large…..larger even than the man, but he somehow wielded it with ease.

He raised the sword high in the air and yelled "Aduro Phasmatis!"

As the sword descended upon Aru, he could not find it in himself to move, overcome by the fear. He closed his eyes and said to himself, "Goodbye!"

Seconds passed, and Aru opened his eyes. He was still in Prontera. He looked for the guy who wanted to kill him. He was nowhere to be found.

"W-What just happened?" He asked Julia.

"I-I have no idea."

Aru looked beneath him. A bottle with a metallic silver liquid was on the floor. He could faintly see the words "Lucas Valentine" labeled on the bottle…as did all the other bottles he saw him make.

Aru picked it up and showed it to Julia.

"Lucas!" She yelled.

Someone touched her from behind. She didn't want to look, because she was overcome by grief.

"Excuse me."

"Not now!"

"Excuse me!"

"What the heck is your problem! Whoever you are!" Julia said as she turned around. "Oh. L-Lucas!"

"Hey! We thought you…umm…..d—" Aru was hesitant to continue his sentence. Although he had only been a friend not even for a whole day, they both still cared for him….mainly because they really needed an alchemist.

"—died? Pffsshh! Me? Puh-leeze."

"Well, we better get going….Juno's a long way from here." Julia suggested.

* * *

Black Mamba gave her order to a waiter in an Al de Baran-ian restaurant. "That'll be all."

"Yes, ma'am."

This restaurant seemed to have very good food, as the whole place was filled. If Black Mamba hadn't threatened to use her necromancy, she'd never get a seat.

People were constantly chattering in the restaurant. The whole building was filled with noise from people.

"Worthless humans."

She pointed at one of the goblets one of the women were about to drink with. It was filled with water. As she snapped her fingers, the water turned into poison, and the woman fell on the ground.

Naturally, people went over to the woman, helping her out.

"Useless lives….."

* * *

"H-How much farther is this damn mountain?" Aru asked.

"We're really tired….we need to rest." Julia said as she panted.

"You wanted to become the sage! We'll never make it at the rate you're going! Put your backs into it!"


	7. Archaeon part II Black Alchemy

Chapter 7-Archaeon part II- Black Alchemy 

"We're here! We're finally here!" Julia shouted as she drank water from Al de Baran's clean waters…

"I can't believe it…..after 10 years, I'm back here again," Aru said as he turned around in amazement, "A lot of things have changed….."

"We should go take a break," Julia suggested as she washed her face with the same water, "Aru, your home's here, right?"

"Umm….yeah."

"Then go and introduce us to your parents!" Lucas bellowed as he tugged the two of them towards the center of Al de Baran, where the famous clocktower stood. The massive structure just stood there, the cries of many, both human and not, could be heard from deep within the tower.

"By the way…." Lucas said as he stopped pulling and scratched his head. "Where IS your home anyway?"

* * *

"Is there anything else you would like, Ms Mamba?" One of the waiters asked out of fear.

"You've just turned from useful to useless….get out of my sight!"

"Yes, m'lady."

Black Mamba stood up from her table, all eyes were on her. She never did like that. All those "pathetic souls" looking at her like she was one of them.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" She bellowed. The people went back to doing what they were before she came in.

As she walked out the door, she noticed something peculiar.

"That cloak….seems….faintly familiar." A closer look revealed the arcane tower's insignia embedded on the back of the cloak.

"Arubatael! Or was it Arushatael? Whatever…."

The doors behind her opened. A man in heavy, black armor strode off into the distance, bumping Mamba in the process.

"What's your problem, punk?" She yelled.

No reply.

"I'm talking to you!"

The man could no longer be seen. Mamba was furious at this. She wanted to blow up the whole city if she wasn't affected by the change of magic as well.

"That's a stupid idea! I might end up burning my own soul!" She thought to herself. "Yes, just calm down. Don't think about those useless souls."

"Yes. Don't." A voice from behind said in an emotionless tone.

Mamba quickly turned around to see the face of Mephisto, the demon. His white hair hidden by the cloak he was wearing. He seemed to be enjoying his vanilla flavored ice cream.

"Want some ice cream?" He offered.

* * *

The doorbell rang, but no one bothered to open the door for the three. Aru pushed the doorbell again. Nothing.

"Oh!" He said in an agitated tone, rapidly pushing the doorbell over and over again.

"Yes, yes! Coming!" A voice from inside said. Moments later, the door opened, and inside was a woman with long blonde hair.

"Oh my God! Arukatael!" The woman said as she hugged Aru as tight as she could. "Thank the heavens you're alright!"

"Mom….."

"I was so worried!"

"MOM!"

"Ooohh, right." She then let go of her tight grip on him. "And who are these friends of yours?"

"This is Julia le Rouge. She's a mage, and we're headed to Juno so she can take the sage test." Aru said as she pointed to Julia. "And this is Lucas Valentine, he helped us against those spider-thingies in Prontera."

"Hi." The two of them said in unison.

"Well, come in. Come in." Aru's mom ushered them inside.

"What would you like? Water? Soda? Tea?" She said as she fiddled with the cupboards.

Julia rejected the offer, "No thanks"

"I'll have some tea please!" Lucas said, sounding very enthusiastic.

"By the way," Aru's mom said as she gave the tea to Lucas, "Where's Phoenix?"

"He's over at Payon doing research on those blue guys."

"BONGUNS!" They all said in unison.

"Oh fine, so everyone knows what they are except me!"

* * *

"Where's the medicine? WHERE IS IT?" A cloaked figure said as he rummaged about his destroyed home. "I feel the darkness overcoming me, my sanity pouring out like a new wound……"

He opened the last drawer he hadn't yet checked. Inside was a vial with transparent silver liquid. He quickly took it out and brought it closer and closer to his lips. That's when he lost it. Before reaching his lips, his grip on the vial increased ten-fold and broke the vial, the liquid dripping down the floor. He couldn't think straight anymore, he couldn't control his movements now. He wasn't himself.

"Archaeon……It is time…." A voice from behind him said.

He turned around and saw his sword.

"Tirfing the accursed sword commands thee!"

"Your will be done."

* * *

"I'm going to go buy some supplies we need. Potions, scrolls, and other stuff." Aru suggested as he walked out the door.

"Wait," Lucas said as he ran after him. "I'll go with you"

Aru just smiled as he closed the door, "You go start brewing those potions."

* * *

"In this house lies a sage…..interesting." The sword, Tirfing said with blood lust in every word "Take me to her! The blood of a sage will quench my blood lust for over half a millennia! I must have her blood!"

"Your will be done."

* * *

"Aru……I was just wondering, where IS your father?" Lucas asked as he loaded some scrolls on the cart.

"He…he's dead," Aru paused for a while. "My mother and Phoenix are my only living relatives…."

"Well then, I'm sorry to hear that…"

* * *

Julia had offered t help Mrs. La Croix cook lunch that day, when the door was being banged on.

"I'll get it," She offered as she handed the pan to Mrs. La Croix. She twisted the knob and opened the door, "Yes?"

"Sage…."

"Excuse me?"

The man in front raised his sword and thrust it down the ground. The earth shivered in fear, the buildings of Al de Baran crumbled one by one.

"What do you think you're doing?" Julia bellowed, "Frost Diver!"

That instant, the man froze solid, the earthquakes stopped.

"Julia! What's going on there?" Mrs. La Croix bellowed as she walked over to the front door. "Black Alchemy!"


	8. Skirmish

**Chapter 8- Skirmish**

"Julia!" Mrs. La Croix bellowed pulling Julia out of harm's way as the sword struck the ground. "Whatever you do, do not let the sword even touch you!"

"Will do!"

The cloaked figure removed his cloak, revealing a bruised and bloody face. He drew out his sword once again and attempted to strike her with it. She nimbly dodged it, and the sword once again hit the ground.

"What the heck is your problem?" Julia shouted.

The man stopped slashing, and dropped his sword to the ground.

"Is he…..surrendering?" Julia asked.

"I don't think so," Mrs. La Croix replied. "You'll never know what these advocates of the black arts will do"

A strong gust of wind blew by, blowing away the man's cloak. Julia's long hair swayed in the strong wind, while Mrs. La Croix put on her hood.

"He's……chanting." Julia pointed out.

Mrs. La Croix just stood there, petrified by fear.

"Mrs. La Croix?"

* * *

"10 years ago, a man walked up to our door and rang the doorbell. During that time, demons were roaming across Al de Baran, so we agreed that he could stay at our home for the night." Aru gave the payment for the supplies as he continued with his story. "He was carrying a peculiarly odd sword, it was humungous, and had writings on it."

Lucas and Aru went out of the market, the door opened as they stepped through. The sun was still high up, people filled the city with their stories and joy.

"He stayed across my father's room that night, in the vacant room. Phoenix and I shared a room, while my mother was out in Juno, teaching."

"Let me guess….he slaughtered your dad?" Lucas said.

"You got that right. A night I could never forget. I heard some weird chanting, but I thought it was just part of his culture, so I went back to sleep. When I woke up the next day, there was blood all over the room."

"I shouldn't have asked about this..I'm sorry." Lucas apologized.

* * *

The man opened his eyes suddenly and let out a loud howl that could be heard throughout Al de Baran.

"Archaeon you fool!" The sword, Tirfing, said, "Useless imbecile! This black alchemy is too much for you to handle, isn't it?"

Tirfing generated a deep red aura, the inscriptions on it glowing a dark red color.

"The blood of a sage, I must have!" It shouted.

As Archaeon charged at them, Julia just stood there, not even looking at him. Mrs. La Croix didn't know what idiocy she was doing, until she sensed a sliver of magic pass her by.

"Don't! If your magic fails, we will all suffer the consequences!"

"This is our only hope."

She extended her arms, and closed her eyes, hoping her magic would work. A wall of fire emerged blocking all of Archaeon's blows.

Julia let out a sigh of relief, as did Mrs. La Croix. But they both knew one firewall would not be enough.

"The firewall's thinning!" Mrs. La Croix bellowed.

"Let's get to the second floor!" Julia suggested. She started casting again, then hurled a large fireball at him successfully. "I'm practically gambling now….."

As they climbed up the stairwell, the firewall subsided and Archaeon began to follow them, destroying everything in his path.

Julia started casting again. She doubted if she should have, as one cannot always rely on pure luck to survive.

"Aru!" She screamed, her scream heard throughout the whole city.

* * *

"Julia!"

"Eh?"

"Julia's in trouble! I have to help her!"

"……what's with the cliché lines?" Lucas asked as Aru dropped the bags and ran off. "…and now he even gives me all these bags to carry! Ugh!"

* * *

Archaeon raised his sword. Too late though. Julia finished casting, only this time, she was a bit unlucky. A huge flame devoured the house, including the people in it. The three people in the house: Julia, Mrs. La Croix, and Archaeon were currently experiencing excruciating pain. The sword, Tirfing, melted away, and Archaeon came back to his senses. A large wave then swept past, extinguishing the flames. 


End file.
